Live Nation CEO says it’s ‘disgusting’ that an employee talked about ‘robbing fans blind’ | CNN Politics

The chief executive of Live Nation testified Thursday that it was “disgusting” that a top ticketing employee talked about “robbing fans blind” in internal messages. CEO Michael Rapino, who has led Live Nation since 2005, parsed his answers and pushed back at times to repeated questions about rising ticket fees, exclusivity deals, and Live Nation’s profit margins on venues, ticketing and advertising. He was called to the stand Thursday in a civil antitrust trial in Manhattan from states alleging that Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, operates as a monopoly. Roughly two dozen states say Live Nation is gauging customers by charging high fees through exclusivity deals. Judge scolds Live Nation and Justice Department for secret settlement talks Jeffrey Kessler, a lawyer representing the states, pressed Rapino about the increase in fees fans have paid for tickets over the last several years and artists’ complaints about those fees and ticketing rules. Kessler confronted Rapino with a 2016 message he sent to a representative involved in Alabama Shakes concert, stating, “Our fees are too high we can’t defend them.” Rapino said he didn’t remember the email or what it